Almost 40 percent of U.S. EV buyers want to go back to combustion engine cars, McKinsey study says | Greater Cincinnati Automobile Dealers Association

Almost 40 percent of U.S. EV buyers want to go back to combustion engine cars, McKinsey study says

More than a quarter of EV owners are likely to return to combustion engine vehicles for their next purchase, according to a McKinsey & Co. survey.

Nearly four in 10 owners of electric vehicles in the U.S. are likely buy a combustion engine car for their next purchase.

That’s the takeaway of a global McKinsey & Co. consumer survey that, among other findings, concluded that charging concerns are hindering the transition to EVs.

Twenty-nine percent of EV owners across the globe said they’re likely to reverse course. That hit 38 percent in the U.S. Consumers globally said their top concern was the inadequacy of the public charging infrastructure. They also cited concerns with high costs of ownership and detrimental impact to long-distance trips.

“I didn’t expect that,” Philipp Kampshoff, leader of the consulting firm’s Center for Future Mobility, told Automotive News. “I thought, ‘Once an EV buyer, always an EV buyer.’ ”

The consumer sentiments may go hand in hand with the slow rollout of a U.S.-backed charging network. Only eight stations are operational following the creation of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program two years ago.

Only 23 states have started doling out financing from the $5 billion federal program, according to EVAdoption data through the end of May.

Among existing stations, both public and private stations can be hard to find. Gas station options are displayed on road signage near interstate exits, while EV chargers remain far from public view.

“Part of availability is visibility,” he said. “You can’t keep chargers hidden behind a Walmart.”

The U.S. is not alone. Only 9 percent of global respondents felt the public-charging buildout was sufficient for their needs.

But it’s a problem bound to grow in importance because “the next generation of EV buyers will rely on public charging much more than the current one,” Kampshoff said.

Among other charging-related findings, McKinsey found:

  • Twenty-one percent of global respondents do not want to ever switch to an EV. Among those, 33 percent cited charging concerns.

  • Charging concerns are exacerbated by range-related expectations. Consumers’ minimum range expectations have grown to 291.4 miles today from 270 miles in 2022. The range of in-market products has not grown as quickly, McKinsey said.

As part of its biennial survey, McKinsey asked approximately 200 questions to more than 30,000 consumers in 15 countries, which collectively comprise more than 80 percent of global sales volume. McKinsey issued its findings on June 12.

Overall, consumers are slightly more willing to consider electrified vehicles than they were two years ago. Thirty-eight percent of non-EV owners say they anticipate that a plug-in hybrid or full battery electric will be their next vehicle. That’s up from 37 percent in 2022.

Varied consumer preferences for EVs, plug-ins and combustion powertrains, combined with a variety of changing regulations globally, make planning a complicated process across the auto industry and its supply chain.

“OEMs and suppliers now have to invest in multiple technologies,” said Kevin Laczkowski, global co-lead of McKinsey’s automotive and assembly practice. “This is the ultimate uncertainty right now, like almost never before.”